lucky sprite NASA Astronaut Recruitment Faces Trump’s Moves Against D.E.I.

Since 1978lucky sprite, every new group of NASA astronauts has included women and usually reflected a multiplicity of races and ethnicities.

That is not simply by chance. NASA’s process for selecting its astronauts is not entirely gender- and race-blind. With so many outstanding applicants, choosing a diversified, highly qualified group of candidates has been achievable, said Duane Ross, who worked as manager of NASA’s astronaut selection office from 1976 until he retired in 2014.

Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to say exactly how many troops were deploying, citing operational security.

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“In recent weeks, a conversation around whether to change how we allocate our Electoral College votes has returned to the forefront,” Mr. McDonnell said in a statement on Monday. “I respect the desire of some of my colleagues to have this discussion, and I have taken time to listen carefully to Nebraskans and national leaders on both sides of the issue. After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change.”

“You didn’t lose sight of wanting your astronaut corps to be reflective of society,” he said.

Over most of its history,swerte99 NASA has risen above partisan bickering, with broad support in Congress from Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. But the makeup of its most visible employees — its astronauts — could now collide with President Trump’s crusade against programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion — or D.E.I.

For NASA to consider race and gender at all in the choosing of astronauts appears to run counter to an executive order that Mr. Trump signed on Jan. 22. That order declares that hiring for federal jobs will “not under any circumstances consider D.E.I.-related factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements.”

On the same day, echoing language in a template used by agency heads across the federal government, Janet Petro, the current acting administrator, told NASA employees that D.E.I. programs “divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”

NASA’s astronauts have served as ambassadors of bravery and technological derring-do for the space agency. But the original astronauts more than half a century ago were all white men, and mostly military test pilots.

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